Company insolvencies in Austria decline significantly

Company insolvencies in Austria decreased 12 percent in the first quarter of 2015 to 747 cases despite a weakening overall economic situation, creditors association KSV1870 revealed in a press release on Wednesday.
The debts of insolvent companies also decreased 38 percent, or 320 million U.S. dollars, while the number of employees affected also fell by 27 percent.
By state, the greatest decline of 36.5 percent was recorded in Tyrol, with Salzburg, Vorarlberg, Upper Austria, and Styria also all recording strong double-digit declines.
KSV1870 said the sharp downturn in insolvencies is in part due to historically low interest rates, the latter being "one of the strongest factors for the development of insolvency."
"Already heavily indebted enterprises are hit particularly hard by interest rate rises and are tested rigorously," said KSV1870 expert Hans-Georg Kantner.
Construction, hospitality, and business services companies such as consultancies and brokerages all had an above-average insolvency rate, KSV1870 putting much of this down to the existence of a high number of such companies.
Private insolvencies meanwhile increased a slight 0.2 percent to 2,127 cases for the first quarter, with the average debt in such cases of just under 55,000 dollars.